Forage seeds — the dairy and feed-mill backbone
Forage seeds anchor Kehkashan's volume book. Nine lines — alfalfa, berseem, Persian, red and white clover, sorghum-sudan, Piper, pearl millet, sesbania — feed dairy mega-farms, feed mills and smallholder rotations. Variety codes drive pricing tiers; we surface them on every RFQ.
Top buying countries
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar lead alfalfa demand for dairy. Egypt, Sudan and Pakistan re-export berseem regionally. Kenya, Tanzania and Ethiopia buy sorghum-sudan and pearl millet. Russia and Kazakhstan import red clover for short-rotation hay programs.
Key varieties to know
AmeriStand 403T, 455TQ RR and 480 HarvXtra cover USA alfalfa across fall-dormancy ratings 4 to 8. WL 525HQ and WL 363HQ extend into Australian and Italian production. Berseem ships as Mescavi, Balady or Fahl. Sorghum-sudan carries BMR 6, BMR 12, BMR 18 and FSG 214.
Logistics overview
Forage lots ship from Jebel Ali in 20-foot or 40-foot containers under FOB, CFR, CIF or DAP terms. Lead time runs 14 to 21 days from PO confirmation. Pack sizes are 10 kg or 25 kg PP bag, 50 kg jute bag or 1 MT FIBC jumbo for bulk programs.
Quality assurance protocol
Every lot is ISTA-tested for purity and germination, screened for dodder seed and tagged under the OECD seed scheme where the origin permits. A draft Certificate of Analysis ships with the courier sample. Buyer counter-samples may be drawn under SGS or Bureau Veritas before dispatch.
Sourcing mix and origin discipline
USA carries the AmeriStand and WL alfalfa book. Australia and Italy back deep-fall-dormancy lots. Egypt is the berseem origin of record. Pakistan supplies sorghum-sudan and pearl millet at competitive freight. New Zealand ships white clover. Multi-origin consolidation lands on one bill of lading.
Pricing tiers and how variety codes drive them
Forage pricing tiers track variety code, fall-dormancy rating and origin. AmeriStand 480 HarvXtra carries a premium of roughly 200 USD per metric tonne over CW 5050 conventional. RR alfalfa adds a trait fee. Mescavi berseem prices above Balady. BMR sorghum-sudan prices above conventional sorghum-sudan.
Buyer profiles we serve
Saudi mega-dairies running 30,000-plus head order alfalfa in 40-foot FCL multiples on a 30-day rolling program. Kenyan and Tanzanian feed mills order sorghum-sudan in 20-foot FCL singles. Egyptian re-exporters rotate berseem across MENA. Smallholder cooperatives in Pakistan and India order Persian clover and sesbania in mixed pallets.
Sample-first policy and how it works
Every new buyer programme starts with a courier sample of 1 to 2 kilograms per origin and a draft Certificate of Analysis. Lab-confirmation by the buyer or by SGS or Bureau Veritas precedes any production order. Sample fees credit against the first FCL on acceptance. Samples ship from Jebel Ali within 48 hours.